The Portrait Anatomised

Working in various media including printmaking and film, Susan Aldworth has developed an extensive body of work that explores the nature of human consciousness and identity. Through blending personal and scientific narratives, Aldworth aims to challenge conventional definitions of portraiture through an examination of the internal structure of our brains. From the intricate details of the micro-circuits formed by billions of brain cells, to the output signals that the brain generates and which are recorded through the scanning process and reflect our conscious experience. By its very nature, neuroscience offers a unique bridge between the disciplines of art and science, in its pursuit of understanding human consciousness. Likewise, Aldworth advocates the internal person as a proper subject of portraiture in the light of contemporary neuroscience and the consequent understanding of what it is to be human, and how we articulate these findings via our own creative and expressive means. [text from The Portrait Anatomised, LSE Arts, 2010]